WASHINGTON—Most people are aware of blue-collar, white-collar and pink-collar jobs, but in light of environmental concerns, there are now green-collar jobs. Green job fairs are sprouting up all over the country, including a recent one held at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Washington, D.C.

“One green job is like putting up solar panels on top of a building to create safer and sufficient energy,” said Sade Demery, who works to promote green jobs for soon-to-be college graduates.

She said the new initiative is to “create green careers, not just green jobs. Something that’s long-lasting.”

In September, the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, released a report demonstrating that an investment of $100 billion dollars over two years would create two million new green jobs.

George Hawkins, the director for Washington, D.C.’s Department of the Environment, is very excited about the expanding green opportunities.

“The hope is, that for the first time, we have a solution that builds in so many components of communities, and jobs, and people, and energy savings, and cost savings, into one solution, into the future,” said Hawkins. Citing jobs ranging from engineers, to contractors, to government positions, Hawkins said the job titles are very similar to those already available. “A lot of the titles are titles we’ve always had. It’s just adding a green overlay.”

Allison Fisher, the program director for Greater Washington Interfaith Power and Light, says green opportunities are growing quickly.

“It’s anything from a weatherizer – somebody who goes in to help caulk windows, to an energy auditor, to being an accountant for a business that installs solar panels,” said Fisher, who works through religon to promote green opportunities for young people.

Fisher said that along with this growing list of career opportunities come lofty salaries: “It’s really a lucrative industry once we get started.”

For job hunters, the green industry could be a growth area and an opportunity for cleaning up a not-so-green economy.